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Australia v India: Steve Rixon backs inexperienced squad in India

Australia coach Steve Rixon believes his players can build on their NatWest Series win in England when they face India.

Last Updated: 10/10/13 2:48pm

George Bailey: Standing in for injured captain Michael Clarke

Rixon believes his young squad can take plenty of positives from the way they bounced back from their Ashes disappointment with strong performances in the Twenty20 and one-day international formats.

Australia can return to the top of the one-day rankings with victory in the seven-match series in India, a tour which begins with a one-of Twenty20 clash in Rajkot on Thursday.

"It is one of our learning curves at the moment," said Rixon, who is standing in for Darren Lehmann who has remained in Australia to prepare for the return Ashes series starting next month.

"We want to let the younger players develop and in doing so we have a strong competition around us, which bring the guys on very quickly.

"We look at the tournament, not just as a tournament but a chance to be number one in the world in one of the three formats. It is very important for the players and for coaching staff and for Cricket Australia."

Captain

George Bailey will skipper the side in the absence of Michael Clarke, who has been ruled out of the tour as he continues to struggle with his long-term back injury.

Rixon added: "George is relatively new to captaincy, but he has done it with distinction in T20 and now gets an opportunity to do it in the one-day competition.

"It is probably our weakness, however it is also our strength as youthful exuberance often can be very good when it comes to final approaches."

Five Australians - Glenn Maxwell, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Shane Watson, James Faulkner and Mitchell Johnson - were involved in the recent Champions League T20 final in Delhi.

"We have been fortunate to have five of them playing," said Bailey. "We are in a reasonable position.

"End result it's (about) the guys who have not been playing a lot of cricket - get them up and ready and we are ready for the contest."

Warning

Meanwhile, India batsman Rohit Sharma has warned that Australia's inexperienced line-up should not be under-estimated.

"They are a very competitive side with most of their players having featured in the IPL and the Champions League," Rohit said.

"They know the Indian conditions well. We can't get complacent against them. Australia on a given day are a very dangerous side. Their batters are match winners. We have to be at our best against them."

Popular all-rounder Yuvraj Singh returns to the side after a string of good scores for India A, and Rohit added: "His experience will definitely help the team.

"He is a great batsman, one of the best India has ever seen in the middle overs."